Tomorrow marks forty years since Eastern 401 crashed in the Florida Everglades. Several surviving flight attendants and pax had been working on a permanent memorial. The effort seems to have stalled in recent years however. http://www.ealflt401.blogspot.com/. I believe two of the surviving flight attendants are still going strong along with several passengers. The surviving member of the cockpit crew, Angelo Donadeo, passed away in 2004.

You know one of the interesting things, to show how times and ways of thinking have changed over the years...

Even after the crash of flight 401, Eastern continued to use that same flight number for the same late-night JFK-MIA flight well into the 1980s.

Nowadays, airlines are so quick to change flight numbers involved in an accident... it's amazing to think that Eastern not only kept it as an active flight number but kept it for, basically, the same flight for years and years.

Quoting skycub (Reply 1):Nowadays, airlines are so quick to change flight numbers involved in an accident... it's amazing to think that Eastern not only kept it as an active flight number but kept it for, basically, the same flight for years and years.

AA1, a 707-123B, crashed soon after takeoff from JFK (then IDL) en route to LAX on March 1, 1962, killing all 95 aboard. AA1 still operates the same flight and route today.

UA has quite a few current flight numbers that were involved in fatal UA accidents in years past.

AC's current GVA-YUL-YYZ flight number (831) was also the flight number of their worst-ever fatal accident (still TCA then), a DC-8-54F combi that crashed soon after takeoff from YUL en route to YYZ on November 29, 1963, killing all 118 aboard.

Thank you for starting this thread. I was just about to start one and believe it or not I was going to link the site you listed, the
Eastern 401 survivor fund. I remember where I was 40 years ago. Ironically, my first cousin who sadly succumbed to Ovarian Cancer in 2005 was flying back from MIA to I believe DCA or IAD on Eastern. Of course when the first news stories were broadcast (dark ages before the Internet) on CBS I believe my dad and the rest of our family were worried. All my dad heard was Eastern Air Lines, accident and MIA. He was consoling my aunt on the phone. I remember breaking into the bedroom and telling my dad;

Yest there was an Eastern Air Lines accident at MIA

It was an inbound "jumbo jet" (At that moment I believe my dad and aunt couldn't care less what type of airliner as long as
my cousin was not on it.)

That type of "jumbo" did not fly into DCA

It was an inbound to MIA flight.

This incident like many other milestones both tragic and happy from many years past seem like yesterday. Time flies faster as one gets older. My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy. I do feel the flight crew got a bad rap from this disaster. It was a chain of tragic errors. The crew was worried that a defective landing gear could lead to catastrophic results at a busy airport at a busy time of the year.

It just goes to show how the mentality of using a flight number that crashed has changed over the years. For example, Eastern 401 was 40 years ago.... American flight 1 was 50 years ago.... The Air Canada flight you mention was almost 50 years ago. Furthermore, I have no doubt that United is still using many flight numbers that were involved in accidents from many years ago... but none of those from recent years. For example, UA is no longer using the numbers 232 (Sioux City), 585 (Colorado Springs), 1713 (CO's DC-9 in DEN) and they are certainly not using 93 or 175.

I do not know when the practice of retiring ill-fated flight numbers came into existence... but, it is still interesting that EA used 401 well into the 80s, especially since that flight number and crash became so well known as a result of two movies made about it and all of the "ghost" stories that resulted from it.

Quoting skycub (Reply 4):I do not know when the practice of retiring ill-fated flight numbers came into existence... but, it is still interesting that EA used 401 well into the 80s, especially since that flight number and crash became so well known as a result of two movies made about it and all of the "ghost" stories that resulted from it.

If I'm not mistaken, flight 401 flew JFK to MIA the next day on an L 1011. Soon after that again if memory serves correct flight 401 was the same route and serviced by a 727. Eventually 401 reverted back to an L1011.

Interesting to note here....I flew as a passenger aboard flight 401 in the Spring of 1985....night flight aboard an L-1011...and of note, aboard #309 that evening! Alot of the passengers waiting to board at the gate in JFK were indeed aware of the history of the flight....many were openly talking about it......

"Didn't this flight crash?"

"Wonder if we'll see a ghost on board"

"Hope we make it"...some people joked.

Once enroute the flight attendant in first was candidly talking with a passenger across the aisle from me about how the flight actually was an attraction to various ghost-hunters as well as people who purposely book the flight to say they've been aboard flight 401. For her, she worked it regularly and such interest in the flight took place all the time.

Everything was 100% a normal flight....movie, snack, I dozed off for a bit. But on approach to Miami the pattern was over the everglades that night, so one could not help to imagine what took place back in 1972.

Unfortunately, the airline would suffer two more in the next 2 1/2 years.

Interestingly, my Godparents CLAIM they were on this flight, but got off in ATL. Everything I've read says this was nonstop JFK-MIA. They're in their 80's & will go to their graves thinking they dodged a bullet.

Was this the only aircraft that Lockheed mixed up something in the cockpit as far as lbs. of pressure. It was a contributing factor in the accident. They must have paid out the a$$ in lawsuits on that one.

Quoting 727LOVER (Reply 7):Aw shucks, I was gonna do a thread too------oh well!

Correct me if I'm wrong------this was EA's first crash since 1965?

Unfortunately, the airline would suffer two more in the next 2 1/2 years.

Interestingly, my Godparents CLAIM they were on this flight, but got off in ATL. Everything I've read says this was nonstop JFK-MIA. They're in their 80's & will go to their graves thinking they dodged a bullet.

Was this the only aircraft that Lockheed mixed up something in the cockpit as far as lbs. of pressure. It was a contributing factor in the accident. They must have paid out the a$$ in lawsuits on that one.

Your Godparents are full of it. Flight 401 on 12/29/1972 operated JFK-MIA, just as it did for next 18 or so years. (I don't know if it operated until the Eastern shutdown in 1991), but I flew on it once or twice in the 70's. The flight number was well known, unlike UA 826, or TW 2, or other flight numbers that crashed, as there was a book written and two TV movies about the accident. The contributing factor to this accident was a faulty landing gear light, which is what caused the first go around, and the subsequent distractions of the flight crew. I still remember where I was that night when the TV stations interrupted programming to announce that an Eastern L-1011 had crashed in the Everglades. I had just graduated from college and was at my girlfriend's house in Skokie, IL. In some ways, it seems like yesterday, and in others, well it was 40 years ago.

On it, there is also a discussion area where details and an open invite to the 40th anniversary gathering were posted. If you are near Miami and would like to attend:

A "dinner will be held at the 94th Aerosquadron Restaurant in Miami, just south of the airport at 1395 North Red Road at 7PM, [Dec 29th, 2012]. There is a nice lounge and patio at the restaurant if you arrive early. The restaurant has prepared a special menu for the night, which includes salad, choice of entree, dessert, tea and coffee for $31.79 including tax and tip. HOWEVER, we need to make sure everyone who is planning on attending RSVP to [crash survivor] Ron at- ronald_infantino@us.aflac.com

We will begin with a candle lighting service on the patio outside facing Miami Intl Airport prior to dinner. Dinner follows in a private room at the restaurant. Later, there will be an address from a Miami Coast Guard Commander and Mr. Benny Benitez will speak about the role Flight 401 played in the development of CRM for crew training. There will be time for sharing special memories and Ron will bring his pictures. This is shaping up to be a very special evening and we look forward to meeting old friends, and making some new memories for the future. Again, as space is limited, please RSVP to Ron if you are attending so that we can make sure the restaurant is prepared."

In the OAG there are something like 9 NYC-MIA arrivals at around the midnight hour. One each on EA, NA and DL from all three NYC airports. The CAB allowed airlines to charge a reduced "Night Coach" fare. In Florida markets they were quite popular. Night flights to major Florida destination existed from NYC, BOS, DCA, PHL, ATL and ORD. EA and DL did most of the flying. Night Coach showed how price elastic demand for airtravel was to Florida. Once deregulation happened Night Coach slowly went away.

Quoting 727LOVER (Reply 7):Interestingly, my Godparents CLAIM they were on this flight, but got off in ATL. Everything I've read says this was nonstop JFK-MIA. They're in their 80's & will go to their graves thinking they dodged a bullet.

Quoting zippyjet (Reply 10):On a side note that night there was also drama at MIA due to a National Airlines inbound DC-8 experiencing landing gear trouble. What series was this DC-8? And, where did that flight originate?

Quoting midway7 (Reply 11):I have no idea why I remember this, but I believe it was National 607. It may have been another JFK-MIA nonstop.

It was another JFK-MIA nonstop. It was still listed in National's July 1, 1974 timetable as Flight 607 - departing JFK at 9:00 pm and arriving MIA at 11:32 pm.

I remember this night very well. I had joined EA in 68 at DCA. I was promoted in 72 to corporate offices in MIA @dec 1. I was still getting my apartment together when I heard the news on TV. Just a few days before this I was in my office on the 6th floor of BLDG 16. Inflight/Dining Services. A very nice lady came into my office with a box of chocolates and a gracious "Happy Christmas/New Year". I thought it was very nice, but had no idea who she was. OK maybe a secretary. Holy S'''t it was Mrs Gilbert! Our Sr VP of Inflight Services. First women to break the glass ceiling!!!!! After the crash, I was told that if I had been on the job longer, I would have been assigned crash duties,,,,ie morgue, psgr svcs whatever......BTW...Beverage and food carts were found in position on remains of the floor.

Another eerie detail I remember from that crash: Back in the day 105.7 FM in Baltimore was a progressive/alternative station WKTK and when they read the news they used this music Les McCann She's Here as background music. I thought this music was provided by Eastern to soften this tragic event. Talk about the times back then.

On a side note that night there was also drama at MIA due to a National Airlines inbound DC-8 experiencing landing gear trouble. What series was this DC-8? And, where did that flight originate?

Quoting midway7 (Reply 11):I have no idea why I remember this, but I believe it was National 607. It may have been another JFK-MIA nonstop.

You are both correct and I, like midway7, also recall that it was National 607.

Some television special about Eastern 401 mentions National 607. That is why I remember it.

National 607 inbound to Miami had some sort of mechanical problem and the crew of National 607 actually declared an emergency.

As a result, according to the television program, the majority of controllers in MIA were focused on NA 607 since they had actually declared an emergency.

In the meantime, no one seemed to notice that that EA 401 was very slowly descending towards the Everglades.

According to the television program, and I am not sure how accurate it was, had NA 607 not declared an official emergency, more attention may have been paid to EA 401 which, at the same time, was supposed to be circling over the Everglades while the cockpit crew looked into a possible landing gear problem while the aircraft was actually slowing descending towards the ground.

Quoting skycub (Reply 23): more attention may have been paid to EA 401 which, at the same time, was supposed to be circling over the Everglades while the cockpit crew looked into a possible landing gear problem while the aircraft was actually slowing descending towards the ground.

contributing factors to this crash were the C chime that indicated autopilot disconnect wasn't all that loud and it only took 15lbs of pressure on the yoke to disengage the autopilot. This happened when the captain leaned over to help with the landing gear indicator light and he bumped the yoke. I believe there was an AD on the L1011 to increase the amount of yoke pressure required to disengage the autopilot on all other L1011s.

An interesting postscript to this accident was that Eastern was sued by one of its pilots, Daniel Gellert. He experienced irregularities with the L-1011 autopilot altitude hold function which had disconnected on him due to an accidental bump. He was able to duplicate the same scenario that happened on Flight 401. When he brought the defect into the limelight, Eastern made life difficult for him. They went on to sue one another. You can read more here: http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx...1043.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985

And, if I'm not mistaken that National inbound flight 607 also had landing gear issues. Besides declaring an emergency I believe it was requested to foam down the runway in case they (National) couldn't get their landing gear issues rectified.

And, I'm still trying to find out about that "chandelier" at the front of this Eastern L1011. I knew I was not imagining things. The other night (December 29) I revisited the official 401 sight. And read about the incident and in describing this new bird they specifically mentioned a chandelier on board toward the front of the massive L1011 cabin. Can anyone elaborate on this mystery chandelier? Any Eastern Air Lines people? When I think of a chandelier on an airliner I think of a corporate bird that's been pimped out!.

As I mentioned previously I took an EA L1011 just a few months after they put it in service. I was also in F. I remember the lighting was different, it was indirect and very soft on the eyes. But I don't remember seeing a chandelier hanging anywhere. My flight was way before 401 crashed.

Personally I don't think a chandelier would be a good idea on an aircraft because all the pieces could become missles in the event of a crash.

Quoting longhauler (Reply 27):
They did, and they did mention it to EA401, but it was too late. During the time it took the crew to regain their situational awareness, the aircraft flew into the ground.

They did, but from what I understand, they did it when the plane was almost on the ground, meaning way too late.

Quoting zippyjet (Reply 30):And, I'm still trying to find out about that "chandelier" at the front of this Eastern L1011. I knew I was not imagining things. The other night (December 29) I revisited the official 401 sight. And read about the incident and in describing this new bird they specifically mentioned a chandelier on board toward the front of the massive L1011 cabin. Can anyone elaborate on this mystery chandelier?

I wonder if they might have been referring to the graphic on the bulkhead at the front of the first class cabin partially shown in this photo? It kind of looks like a chandelier would look if you were standing on the floor and looking straight up into it.

At one time, there was another photo in the a.net database, but apparently it has been deleted from the site. But if you do a google image search you can see it. It's the image on the second row, fourth from the left. Click on the thumbnail for the bigger view.

Quoting todareisinger (Reply 32):They did, but from what I understand, they did it when the plane was almost on the ground, meaning way too late.

Yes, that is what it looks like. But in all fairness, with a lot on their mind, it would take large difference in assigned altitude from displayed altitude to make the change stand out. And ... as we know, they were not all that high to begin with.

Quoting LoneStarMike (Reply 33):Quoting zippyjet (Reply 30):
And, I'm still trying to find out about that "chandelier" at the front of this Eastern L1011. I knew I was not imagining things. The other night (December 29) I revisited the official 401 sight. And read about the incident and in describing this new bird they specifically mentioned a chandelier on board toward the front of the massive L1011 cabin. Can anyone elaborate on this mystery chandelier?

I wonder if they might have been referring to the graphic on the bulkhead at the front of the first class cabin partially shown in this photo? It kind of looks like a chandelier would look if you were standing on the floor and looking straight up into it.

At one time, there was another photo in the a.net database, but apparently it has been deleted from the site. But if you do a google image search you can see it. It's the image on the second row, fourth from the left. Click on the thumbnail for the bigger view.

There was in fact a chandelier when the L1011's were first-delivered to Eastern. In the first photo provided by LoneStar Mike, in the area just forward of where the flight attendants are standing was a lounge. First Class began just aft of the lounge and was separated by a half-bulkhead that was wood-paneled. The "glass sunburst" was actually the forward part of the lounge. Just in front of the sunburst was a credenza and sometimes catering would put fresh-cut flowers on it. The chandelier was just above it.

There was also a lounge in the very back of economy just forward of the lavatories. The bulkhead that separated the lounge from the circular lav section had a strange pattern of sun faces all over it. It was sort of Mayan-looking. I am guessing Eastern's initial L1011 interior theme was "Mexico".

I do not know of the exact dates, but the lounges were removed in the 1974-1976 time frame. The chandelier went out the door with them. I wonder if any high-up EAL execs saved them for themselves?

The last Eastern L1011 I was ever on was in late November of 1990. It was N308EA and it still had the glass sunburst that was once part of the forward lounge and the aft bulkhead in coach still had the spooky sun faces all over it. Also, the trolley cart that you see in the photo with the flight attendants..........they still looked like that in 1990.

Quoting Cody (Reply 35):There was in fact a chandelier when the L1011's were first-delivered to Eastern. In the first photo provided by LoneStar Mike, in the area just forward of where the flight attendants are standing was a lounge. First Class began just aft of the lounge and was separated by a half-bulkhead that was wood-paneled. The "glass sunburst" was actually the forward part of the lounge. Just in front of the sunburst was a credenza and sometimes catering would put fresh-cut flowers on it. The chandelier was just above it.

Thanks for the info. In the second photo, (the one I found doing a google image search) if you click on the thumbnail, then go to the right sidebar and click on full size image, and then zoom in even further, you can make out the hardware that the chandelier must have been attached to, centered over the sunburst graphic.

Also found a 7-page brochure (located at the end of the linked post on another forum) that shows the Eastern L1011's as they were originally delivered. The chandelier isn't in any of the photos, but you can see where the first class lounge was by looking at the seat map.

Thank you all for shedding light on this. When I get home I'll check this out. Regarding the creepy sun iconswere a 1970's beauty icon. Like the National Sun King. If anyone has those chandelier pictures please post here.

Quoting EASTERN747 (Reply 16):I remember this night very well. I had joined EA in 68 at DCA. I was promoted in 72 to corporate offices in MIA @dec 1. I was still getting my apartment together when I heard the news on TV. Just a few days before this I was in my office on the 6th floor of BLDG 16. Inflight/Dining Services. A very nice lady came into my office with a box of chocolates and a gracious "Happy Christmas/New Year". I thought it was very nice, but had no idea who she was. OK maybe a secretary. Holy S'''t it was Mrs Gilbert! Our Sr VP of Inflight Services. First women to break the glass ceiling!!!!! After the crash, I was told that if I had been on the job longer, I would have been assigned crash duties,,,,ie morgue, psgr svcs whatever......BTW...Beverage and food carts were found in position on remains of the floor.

Thanks for sharing; I've always been fascinated by EA since I was a kid at DTW and my dad and I would watch the "Whisperliners" take off.

Quoting drgmobile (Reply 37):Donadeo was NOT a member of the cockpit crew. He was a maintenance worker who chose to ride jumpseat in the cockpit and helped out when the landing gear light wouldn't come on.

Quoting UAL Bagsmasher (Reply 40):@drgmobile I know that. I just lumped him in as part of the crew since he was actually up there during the flight. He wasn't performing in any official capacity though.

The rest of the story...

At the time of the subject event, Angelo Donadeo was a Maintenance Technical Specialist, a management position at EAL. He had been called in to go to JFK to look at L1011 ship N305EA position 3 powerplant that had a fan disk failure off shore near Atlantic City, NJ.
Link to the N305EA event is: http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=66700&key=0

At that time it was common for Maintenance Tech folks, Aircraft Maintenance management to ride in the jump seat. At least two management people - Donadeo and my manager (of RB.211 Powerplants) - went to JFK for the N305EA powerplant problem. By the time that my manager got to the gate area, FLT 401 (ship N310EA) was being pushed back; so, he returned to MIA via an alternate one-stop routing. When I went to work the next morning, I knew that my manager had made back to MIA as the remaining pieces of the failed fan disk drive arm were on his desk. Anyway, when I called him at home after lunchtime, I heard a clinking noise in the phone; I asked if I was hearing ice cubes clinking and he said yes, and the drink strong.....!

Quoting cf6ppe (Reply 41):At the time of the subject event, Angelo Donadeo was a Maintenance Technical Specialist, a management position at EAL. He had been called in to go to JFK to look at L1011 ship N305EA position 3 powerplant that had a fan disk failure off shore near Atlantic City, NJ.

I've seen photos on Eastern's Facebook, the damage was similar to the UA flight that crash landed at Sioux City Iowa.

Quoting 802flyguy (Reply 42):No to cast aspersions on the flight crew, but like the crew of Scandinavian 933 in 1969 near LAX, they simply lost focus on flying the plane. UAL 173 comes to mind as well. Sad, indeed.

Yes, these accidents, and several others are often used during Cockpit Resource Management exercises.

I found a copy of The Ghost of Flight 401 at a used book store and picked it up a few years back - I had read it as an airplane-obsessed kid. The account of the crash itself is pretty solid, but the ghost stuff gets terribly ridiculous after a few pages. Interesting read though, very 70s vibe to the whole thing... there's also a movie version that might be on the YouTube in a terribly grainy, lo-fi state... it's one that scared me a bit as a child but now is pretty ridiculous...

I will say though that one thing to this day is terribly creepy to me - the picture of the cabin crew that if I'm not mistaken was taken right before the flight... one flight attendant is being (very jokingly, of course) strangled by another, while a second FA was given "devil horns" or whatever you call it... those are the two FAs who died in the crash. Purely 100% coincidence I know but still really spooky...

[Edited 2013-01-04 08:42:57]

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